Yet the increase in spending did not appear to be a signal that consumers are feeling increasingly confident about the economy. Americans actually spent less on many discretionary items such as new cars, household products, recreational goods and clothing.

Cold and snowy conditions contributed to the drop-off as they kept many Americans off the road.

At the same time, poor weather caused utility bills to rise sharply. Spending on electricity and natural gas, for example, surged by a combined 13.7%. That accounted for about the half of the increase in consumer spending in January.

Consumers also shelled out more cash for medical expenses. The advent of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, triggered a flush of spending in the first month after the law took effect. Health-care spending jumped 1.6% in January.

What’s more, higher spending in January was offset by slower outlays in December and November than previously reported. The government said spending rose just 0.1% in December instead of 0.4%, while November’s increase was lowered a tick to 0.5%.

The pace of spending suggests little change in the trajectory of the U.S. economy, whose growth is largely dependent on the habits of consumers. They account for more than two-thirds of the nation’s economic activity.

“The bottom line is that there is nothing here to suggest that the underlying state of the consumer is better or worse than previously thought,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist of Pierpont Securities.

Consumer spending has been erratic since the recession ended in mid-2009. Stretches of higher spending have been followed by lulls as Americans shored up their savings. The savings rate was unchanged last month at 4.3%.

Yet many economists argue that spending is likely to pick up in the spring and give the economy a boost as warmer weather unleashes pent-up demand and a steady increase in hiring puts more cash in the pockets of consumers.

The average incomes of Americans, meanwhile, climbed 0.3% in January. The gain was driven by pay raises for military and government employees, an annual cost-of-living raise for Social Security recipients and higher subsidies for health services related to Obamacare.

The rise in income was partly offset by the end of extended unemployment benefits for some 1.35 million Americans on Jan. 1. The expiration of the law reduced the cost of benefits by nearly $17 billion and contributed to slack demand in January for many consumer goods.

Meanwhile, inflation as measured by the personal consumption expenditure price index rose 0.1% on both an overall and core basis excluding food and energy.

Over the past 12 months the core PCE index, seen as a more precise barometer of underlying inflationary trends, has risen a scant 1.1%. The lack of inflation gives the Federal Reserve plenty of leeway to keep interest rates low for the next year or two.

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